28 pages • 56 minutes read
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
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Character Analysis
The Older Waiter
In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the older waiter is the protagonist. Initially, there is little marked difference between the two waiters, but as the story progresses, the reader is presented with two different words associated with the older waiter: unhurried and old. In this sense, he is not unlike the old man in the café whom the waiters are discussing, and the younger waiter tells him, “You talk like an old man yourself” (290).
As the story progresses, it becomes evident that the older waiter is like the old man in other ways as well. He confesses to the younger waiter, “I am one of those who like to stay late at the café” (290), creating a direct connection between himself and the old man. The older waiter empathizes with the older man’s desire to stay and drink and rebukes his coworker for kicking him out; however, he does not stop him from doing so or rebuke him for speaking rudely to the old man earlier. While he is empathetic, he is also passive.
The older waiter understands the value of a clean, well-lighted place, noting that some people need the café and admitting that he, too, needs solace. He tries to explain this to the younger waiter by saying that “[h]e stays because he likes it” (289), similar to how he finds the café to be a “very different thing” (291) from the bars and bodegas he dislikes. With this, he represents the older generation in the generational divide.
The younger waiter dismisses the older waiter’s explanation, saying that the old man is just lonely. The older waiter, like the old man, is unmarried, so he is also lonely. In addition, the older waiter admits that he lacks confidence and youth. This lacking or general sense of absence drives him to seek escape from the modern world in orderly places like the café. His inner monologue reveals that he does not find the same comfort in religion, though whatever relief he can find is revealed to be ephemeral. He ends each night by lying in bed awake, representing the Futility and Stagnation in Modern Society and the inescapable Despair of the Human Condition.
The Younger Waiter
The younger waiter in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is the antagonist, standing in direct opposition to the older waiter. He acts as a foil to the older waiter, creating an emphasis on their contrasting actions and beliefs. While the older waiter understands the café’s importance to those who are lonely and struggling with “nothing,” the younger waiter is eager to shut down the café as soon as possible so he can go home to his bed and his wife. He says, “He’s lonely. I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me” (289).
While the older waiter aligns himself with the old man, the younger waiter is concerned with himself, claiming the old man is selfish because he doesn’t consider that the waiters must work so long as he is there. He makes no attempt to understand what the driving loneliness and despair do to the old man or others like him, and when the older waiter attempts to explain, he merely responds with “Good night” and leaves.
The younger waiter appears insensitive and ignores the reality of those around him. He values his own time above others, stating that an hour is “more to me than to [the old man]” (290). He has confidence and youth on his side, something the old man and the older waiter lack. In fact, he finds age to be “a nasty thing” (289) and treats the old man with disgust, telling him, “You should have killed yourself last week” (289). This highlights the older waiter’s kindness when he speaks of the old man. The older waiter appears more sympathetic against the young waiter’s harsh criticism.
His confidence and youth complicate his character; he is not a villain but merely naïve in his approach to the world. He has yet to experience the despair and sense of nothingness that both the older men sense. He might have been born after World War I, which means he has a different frame of reference. Additionally, he grew up in the world that the older men find so confounding, meaning he’s more comfortable with the culture. His continuing questions about the old man’s attempted suicide indicate that he is in search of concrete answers to questions that remain unanswerable, highlighting his youth and naivety.
The Old Man
The old man’s presence in the café is the inciting incident that sets the story in motion; he is the subject on which the two waiters dwell. He has recently attempted suicide, though he was saved by his niece, who feared for his soul; by contrast, this characterizes him as someone not afraid for his own soul. He had been married at one time, but currently, he is cared for by his niece. Additionally, the old man is a frequent customer of the café, where he often gets so drunk that he forgets to pay. Yet, as he walks away from the café, he still walks with dignity
The old man is an isolated character, embodying Modernist ideas about alienation. He likes to sit alone “in the shadow of the leaves of the tree” even though the café is well-lit at night. Furthermore, he sits at night because it is quiet, and though he is deaf, he can feel the difference. His deafness separates him from the world as well, though it also protects him from hearing the rude things the younger waiter says to him. While he is lonely and perpetuates some of this loneliness himself, he also seeks out company and public life by visiting the café each day. This indicates that the man is not totally nihilistic, and by proxy, the modern era is not a lost cause.
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